“The Ten Most Wanted” List: A
History

It all started in 1949, when a reporter from the International News
Service decided to write a story about the “toughest guys”
sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In response, the F.B.I.
provided ten names of wanted criminals.

The article created a sensation. Delighted at the subsequent publicity,
F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover began the “Ten Most Wanted
Fugitives” program in March 1950.

Since then the list has become a standard crime-fighting tool for the
F.B.I. By widely circulating the lists to media outlets and posting them
in public buildings, the F.B.I. has been able to enlist public help in
finding what it calls serious offenders. Of the 490 names that have
appeared on the list since its inception, 460 have been apprehended,
including 151 nabbed as a direct result of tips from the public. The
Internet has made the list even more universal, since it can be seen all
over the world in a matter of seconds.

From Car Thieves to Terrorists

The makeup of the list has reflected the changing nature of American
crime. At first, bank robbers, burglars, and car thieves dominated. In the
1960s, more fugitives were charged with destruction of government
property, sabotage, and kidnapping.

As international organized crime and political terrorism increased in
the 1970s, the makeup of the list changed again.

Currently, organized crime figures, major international drug dealers,
terrorists, and serial murderers predominate. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef,
convicted of the World Trade Center bombing in 1997 and sentenced to 240
years in jail, was on the list from 1993 to 1995. Alleged mastermind in
the 1998 bombing of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Osama bin
Laden, is currently on the list, as are suspected abortion clinic bomber
Eric Rudolph, and alleged Boston organized crime figure James J.
“Whitey” Bulger.

Dangerous to Society

The F.B.I. bureaucracy creates the list, starting with names submitted
by the 56 F.B.I. field offices. In order to be listed, a suspect must be
considered especially dangerous. Authorities must also believe the
publicity would increase chances of apprehension.

Fugitives remain on the list until they are captured, the charges
against them are dropped, or they are no longer determined to be a menace
to society. Only four suspects have ever been removed for this reason.
Charges have been dropped against 15 fugitives on the list since its
inception.

Public Enemy Number One

People sometimes confuse the “Ten Most Wanted” list with
the “public enemies” lists released by the Chicago Crime
Commission in 1930, and popularized by the 1931 James Cagney movie,
“The Public Enemy.” The popular Dick Tracy comic strip;
the ABC radio network program, F.B.I., This Week; and the Fox
network TV show, America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back, are
all used to publicize the list.